Audio narrator was great. I would definitely listen to other books she's performed.


This is more a 3.5 rounded up because of some structural issues - the story blazed through three natural stopping points, for instance. However, I really enjoyed this. The characters were unusually well developed for this type of romantic paranormal mystery. The author also made the interesting and ballsy decision to make Josh, the love interest, vulnerable and a bit unsure of himself not to mention scraping by financially - instead of the over sexed, over muscled and over the top slavering sides of billionaire beefcake the genre usually boasts. I thought this worked really well (although frankly I could have done without the SA thread even off page).

Esse is also a great character. I liked her independant spirit contrasted with her hang ups. (Although the accidental genital mutilation thread was once again one I kind of didn't need and which did confuse the flavour of the genre IMO). That said, in many ways this was a fresh take on well worn genre tropes. It was enjoyable and I got through it in two sittings (long car journey).

Some of the magic is a bit woolly for my taste but I really appreciate the fact that the author actually bothered to do historical research - particularly since this is UK set.

Overall this is a superior offering in the genre. It was a fun read and I'll definitely check out the author's other work.

From the cover and title I was expecting Hex Appeal to be a fluffy rom-com with a witchy twist. And although it does have romance, many humorous moments and plenty of witches, it’s is also much, much more than that.

I loved the characters right from the start. Essie is a great protagonist, strong and complex and very relatable. The love interest, Josh while having many traits we would expect is also vulnerable and has experienced abuse and controlling behaviour from an ex-girlfriend which has a big impact on him. I thought this was such an important thing to address and was handled very well. Diversity in the supporting characters including a fantastic non-binary witch was good to see.

Sometimes when reading romances I get frustrated by the lack of diversity and variety in sex scenes. So many books use the same descriptive phrases and concepts and it can feel like you’re just reading the same scene over and over in different books. They tend to also be very unrealistic and idealised. So the scenes in this book, where both parties have been affected by previous experiences and so struggle with sexual dysfunction was a refreshing change and something I think a lot of people will be able to relate to.

The storyline which brought in elements of historical witch hunting and time travel was very well thought out. The author clearly did a lot of research into the subject which I appreciated. The book was so well written that it made me both laugh and cry as I felt so invested in the characters.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was great. It might have been interesting to have a male narrator voice Josh but I still really enjoyed it.

Overall this was a fantastic book which subverted some of the cliches we so often see in romance novels. More vulnerable male characters and realistic sex scenes like this please! A new favourite.